Swab for cleaning dishpans, etc.



$33. F. J. CURRAN SWAB FOR CLEANING DISHPANS, ETC

Sept. 26,

Filed Nov. 11, 1931 Patented Sept. 26, 1933 UNITED STATES ApplicationNovember 11, 1931 1 Serial No. 574,255

1 Claim.

This invention relates to a device for scrubbing and polishing pots,pans, dishes and various other articles which may be satisfactorilycleaned by means of a metallic wool.

In the past it has been customary to clean such articles by means ofwool made of steel, brass, or other metal held in the hand. Such aprocedure is generally unsatisfactory because of the inconvenienceinvolved in the handling of steel or metalic wool. Various devices havebeen proposed as holders for the metal wool but since such wools wearaway rapidly in use, it is necessary that the wool in such a holder bechanged frequently, which defeats in part the primary object of all suchdevices, which is to make it possible to use the wool without touchingit. It has also been proposed to provide a holder containing a largequantity of metal wool which may be fed out as needed, but such deviceshave in general been too cumbersome or too expensive to come intogeneral use.

It is, therefore, an object of my invention to make a holder which willhold a quantity of metal wool firmly and in such a manner that the userwill at no time find it necessary to touch the wool.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a cheap and convenientholder for metal wools which will be adjustable so that adjustment maybe made to allow for the wearing away of the wool.

These and other objects of my invention will be apparent from thefollowing description and appended claim.

A preferred form of my invention is described in the folowingspecification andin the drawing which form a part thereof.

On the drawing:

Figure l is a longitudinal cross section of my completed device. v

Figure 2 is a bottom view of my device.

Figure 3 is a plan view of a blank from which the part 5 of Figure 1 maybe formed.

Figure 4 illustrates the completed part made from the blank shown inFigure 3.

As shown on the drawing:

Figure 1 illustrates a metal cylinder 6 which may be of any suitablediameter. Attached to one end of cylinder 6 is the bottom member 7. Theopening 8 through the bottom member 7 has its edges curved inwardly asat 9. The small holes indicated by 10 are contained in the bottom member7. The member 5 may be formed from a piece of sheet metal cut as inFigure 3 and bent to the form shown in Figure 4. The piece of steel orother metallic wool 11 is then inserted into the member 5. The member 5containing the metal wool is then forced into the open end of thecylinder 6 until it reaches the position at which it is illustrated inFigure 1.

In use, my device is grasped around the cylinder 6 and the end at whichthe steel wool is exposed,

PATENT OFFICE. Y

is rubbed upon thev surface to be polished or scoured. As soon as thesteel wool is worn away more may be forced out of the container by forciing the finger to the opening 8 thereby shoving the member 5 toward theopen end of the cylinder sides of the cylinder 6 thereby'preventing themember 5 from being crowded back to the lower end of the cylinder 6during use. v

The edge ofthe hole 8 is turned inwardly a shown at 9 in order toprevent the fingers from being'injured when the member 5 is pushedforward. Thesmaller holes 10 are for the'purpose of allowing water todrain away from the device when it has been set away after use. I preferthat the member 5 have three prongs 12 each having the barbs 13 forengaging with the steel wool, as shown, but of course, it is obviousthat the number of prongs and barbs usedcould be varied within widelimits without departing from the principle of my invention. Also, thecylinder 6 could be made square, or various other shapes rather thancylindrical if desired. I

Thus it will be seen that I have provideda cheap and convenient devicefor holding and using metal wools for scouring and polishing purposes.This will make the use of such wools much more popular since thedifficulties metin using ordinary loose wool for this purpose have beeneliminated.

While I have described a preferred embodiment of my invention I do notwish to be limited thereto, as I am aware that many changes may be made'in the details of construction and arrangement of parts withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of my invention as claimed.

I claim as my invention:

An article of manufacture comprisinga container adapted to be filledwith a body of abrasive material, said container having an open endthrough which the abrasive material may be pushed, a retaining memberfor the abrasive material comprising a follower portion, means on saidfollower portion frictionally engaging the I inner surface of saidcontainer, and inwardly 1 projecting prongs on said retaining memberdisa cap secured to one end of said retaining member, said cap having arelatively large central opening through which a fingermay be insertedto push the retaining means toward the open end' of the container, and aflange on said cap dis-,

posed about the edge of the central opening and extending intothe casingto serve as a stop for posed to be embedded in the abrasive material, a

